Cathy loves her dog, Mark, a Labrador. But she has to keep standing up, or interrupting her work, when she has to let Mark out of the house, and later, back inside. Mark has his own ways of persuading, or annoying, Cathy – he follows him wherever she goes in the house. Granted, many other dogs have more annoying habits. But Cathy wanted a solution regardless. A door small enough for her dog, but too big for humans, and one that the dog could ‘operate’ on its own. She started looking more and more into dog door.
She read about many kinds of dog doors – those mounted on many types of doors, those mounted on walls, automatic dog doors, and others. She went with the flap type, the one installed on doors. When buying this kind of dog door, you have to keep in mind how tall your dog is, how thick the door you’ll install it in, and perhaps the weather where you live.
When installing the dog door, make sure your pet has easy, unobstructed access from outside of the door as well as inside. You may need some tools to properly install your dog door, unless the company you bought it from can take care of the installation for you. Among them are a drill or a screwdriver, a cutting device, a level, a measuring tape, pencil, and drywall saw. Most likely, there’s a video about the installation produced by the company you bought the dog door from; you should watch it. Read the installation manual.
Not everyone may have the needed tools or carpentry skills, so it may be necessary to hire a handyman or a contractor to help you out with the installation
Just so you know, there are at least three disadvantages to having flaps in your dog door. One is that other animals can get in and out, just like your dog. Unless your home is inside a gated or fenced property, there’s always the possibility of there being another animal who may enter your dog flap. Second, your house’s heat could be reduced since draft from outside may come in through the flap when the dog enters or leaves. Third, if someone plays a prank and seals the flap on the dog door, your dog may not be able to get in or out.
A possible solution to this is to replace your flap style dog door with an electronic one. In this set up, your dog wears a collar with a transmitter. The dog door opens or unlocks automatically when the dog gets near.
